いらっしゃいませ！

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Naga Naga Ramen - Pasadena, CA

On my drive back from meeting rameniac at the new Naga Naga Ramen in Pasadena, I began to daydream. Whatever was in that soup, it made me want to write a spoof of Top Gun based solely on ramen. Of course it would be called Top Ramen, but everything would be pronounced phonetically using Japanese syllables. So, in actuality it would be called Toppu Ramen. I even detailed the perfect cast in my mind. Rameniac would play Maburiku (Maverick), edjusted would play Goosoo (Goose), I would play Aisu Man (Ice Man), Brian would play Suraidaa (Slider), Nate would play Maalin (Merlin), Pepsi Monster would play Jestaa (Jester), Dennis would play Vwipaa (Viper), BB would play Chaalee (Charlie), and Paul could play Meg Ryan's part. Haha..no offense. And Exile Kiss, don't think I forgot about ya. You could play Holleewuddo (Hollywood). I arrived home before I could lay out the main plot so maybe I'll finish it after my next visit. Or not...

Anyway, I guess I was trying to convey that I wasn't really impressed by "Long Long" Ramen. To me, it was a cross between Noodle World and Ajisen. You can be the judge of that statement. There was a definitive Thai influence throughout the menu so I may possibly come back to try the Tomyum "Revolutionary" Ramen someday cuz it looked good. The Naga Naga Ramen that I had today was supposed to be Tonkotsu, but it lacked porkiness. Yeah I know, it didn't make any sense to me either. The chashu tasted like ham or canadian bacon and the menma was a bit tough. The noodles were decent...sort of. I used to live in Pasadena and would always hope for a true ramen-ya to arrive in Old Town. Sadly, this isn't the true ramen-ya that I was expecting. Maybe I don't regret moving after all.

I agree with one thing: the pork needs improvement and I love pork and know good pork. But the ramen was bomb. I especially love the curly ramen. It's not too soft and the various types of broth were good. I've been back three times. It is comparable to Ajisen but I think naga's ramen is a bit better. For Pasadena that place is decent and I love my ramen. I'm a noodle freak so I do recommend this place to anyone who's looking for good ramen. :)